A common type of network-based transaction is purchasing goods or services via a network-based transaction facility, e.g., a website on the Internet. One type of network-based transaction is an online-auction transaction. In an online-auction transaction, a seller offers an item for sale via an auction website in which a number of bidders access the website and bid for the item. A transaction is completed after the winning bidder pays for the item and the seller delivers the item to the winning bidder.
A typical problem associated with such a transaction is a winning bidder failing to follow through with the transaction. For example, the winning bidder may fail to pay for the auctioned item or provide a fraudulent check to purchase the item. In such a case, the bidder is referred to as a “non-paying bidder.” As a result of a failed transaction, the seller may request a refund for a fee that may have been charged by the network-based transaction facility to facilitate the transaction. Another problem that may occur is a seller falsely claiming that a transaction did not go through to obtain a refund when in fact a valid sale occurred.
Thus, there is a need to minimize the number of non-paying bidders and to minimize seller abuse in falsely claiming refunds. Furthermore, there is a need to track non-paying bidders and to minimize network-based transaction facility resources in tracking non-paying bidders.